Author's note: So I tried something new... again!
My first Gotham/Baby BatCat fic, I hope you all enjoy, because I liked to write it :D Any typo or mistake, I'm sorry!
Disclaimer: Gotham is not mine, nor are the babies, although I do follow Camren's carreer since she was a little fetus (aka ABDC).
Mistletoe
(or seven times Bruce and Selina proved that a first kiss doesn't need to be the last)
"Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it. But a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it."
Selina Kyle
i.
For a week she had haunted him with those questions. Had he ever kissed a girl? Did he want to? He could kiss her, she'd let him – if he could hit her with a pastries, if he could outran her around the lake, if he skinny dipped on the waterfall next weekend.
They didn't make it to the following weekend, though, to know if Bruce would do it. The assassins got to them first and soon enough Selina was on the run again. Disappeared like smoke. Respecting her space and knowing that she was way too good at hiding, he didn't even try to find her.
There was no need, she came for him.
He was thirteen. The lonely orphan zillionaire that had no friends but the British butler. He had never kissed a girl nor had he put much thought on it before she entered in his life. And that was the last day that Bruce Wayne didn't know how it was to have his lips on someone else's.
ii.
Almost a year had passed before they got the chance to do something reckless again – like that time they wandered around Gotham as if they owned the place (if not much, the city belonged to Cat). The frequency of Selina's visits was erratic and she couldn't risk having assassins on her heels following her all the way to the Wayne Manor again.
However, this time she had something in mind and showed up at his window right after bed time.
It was known that Bruce had the worst sleep schedule in the whole city and she could bet her money of the day that she'd find him wide awake, probably still working on the absurd whys of his parent's murder.
"Hi Cat." Bruce greeted, not even looking in her direction. He was good at it – knowing when she was there – ever since that night.
"How do you even…" Selina started, but his smile when he turned to her – both mischievous and content – made her stop. Bruce was different. They were only one year apart in age and just a few months before, when she lived in that house, she was taller than him, but now he was growing tall and Selina started to see herself stuck in her 5' height. Soon, she knew, if he kept on growing like that, she'd look tiny by his side. "I should've had made the bet." She finally continued. "At least I'd get myself a few more bucks."
Bruce frowned in confusion, settling down the bed the folder he had in hands. He was in sweatpants and a white tee that looked weird on him. There was a bruise on his chin and she knew he was taking martial arts – the stupid training that he so wanted finally granted.
"Never mind." Cat shook it off, getting closer. "Change your clothes. Put on something warm and comfortable because we're going somewhere."
Selina Kyle, always bossing him around. She was so clever and interesting. He wanted to reject her. He wanted to send her away. But, you see, he really didn't want that, so he did everything she said.
"Where?" was his only question and she smiled that smile of hers, when she'd go Kid… with such arrogance and power.
"It's a surprise." Cat told him, still smiling. "Make sure to bring gloves."
…
Sure he didn't know what to expect, but as soon as they saw the bridge, it made sense. She was keeping her promise (even if it wasn't much of a promise) and she took him there.
"We're climbing it, aren't we?" Bruce asked, the excitement almost palpable, something that made Selina laugh as she looked back at him.
"Yes, we are."
As she had told him, it wasn't hard to climb and it'd be even easier if he knew better what to do with his arms and legs. Ever since his growth spree, Bruce didn't seem to be sure how to function and that was one of the main reasons he had practically begged for Alfred to increase his training. In a nice pace, they made their way to the top, gloved hands on dirty cables and the cold wind of the river blowing the heat out of their bodies. He was profoundly glad to hear her commands.
By the time he made it to the top, Selina already was seated, her legs dangling on both sides of the structure. It was only when he sat by her side that he got to really look at the city ahead of him and the sight of all of those lights was breathtaking.
"Wow." The boy mumbled in awe. If he quickly glanced at the girl by his side, he'd see that she was feeding on his reaction. Bruce Wayne was high in the sky and not even caring. Wasn't that something? "It's so beautiful."
"Well, depends on the angle you're looking." She replied with an uninterested shrug and the way Bruce looked at her was almost as if he had forgotten that she was there. "From mine, it's not that bright."
Bruce frowned and laid towards her to look at the city. His gesture made her laugh and he was so close that she could smell the mix of sweat and shampoo coming from him.
"I don't get it, it looks the same to me." He said in his it-doesn't-make-sense tone.
"Well, that's because I don't mean here." Selina admitted and he turned to face her. Their noses were inches apart and she had to make a double take on her next words. "I mean, my place in the city, my angle is the street with the poor souls. It's not so bright from there."
The words took even the girl herself by surprise. She wasn't expecting to bring such heavy subject in such a beautiful night. For an instant, something really close to pity crossed Bruce's eyes, but they soon lost focus as he looked at her lips. He passed a leg to the other side of the structure, now sitting right in front of her and his hands slid up her tights, stopping on her hips.
If you asked him, Bruce would say that he had no idea what he was doing, why he was doing. Something got into him, he'd admit, and he'd even blush a little. At that moment, as he nuzzled Selina, making her tilt her head, he just knew what to do.
And he kissed her. This time slowly, nice and easy, taking all the time he wanted. He pulled her closer and her hands grasped to him, one on his jacket, the other in his hair, using all the will she didn't have to pull away.
"Why did you do that for?" Selina asked, internally cussing herself for sounding so out of breath and was certain that her cheeks were flushed. Bruce just smiled at her.
"That's what you told me." He stated and Cat was glad to see that he was out of breath too. "You said kids come here to make out."
Did she? Oh, yes, she did. That one time she was so desperate to know if she could kiss this boy that she tried to make it look as if it was his desire. She had told herself that, if she ever missed him too much, she'd take him there. And there they were. She felt one of his hands tracing up his spine and the wind blew her hair on her face, so she pushed it back with one swift movement, her eyes in his with a never known before shyness that she made sure to hid by kissing him again. And again. And again. Until the feeling was gone.
iii.
When Cat entered through the window in the training room, Bruce was on the floor, breathing heavily. From her calcs, he had just finished his martial arts session and that was why he was sweaty and tired. For the past year, they hardly saw each other. Detective Gordon was trying to make Selina one of those protected witness, but she was too clever and slick – it was extremely hard to find her, unless she wanted to be found. It wasn't as if Bruce had tried, though. He had his own life and training and worries. Cat was just a girl from the streets who entered in his life because of his parent's murder and happened to be interesting.
If it wasn't for it, she highly doubted that one day their paths would've crossed.
"Do you think it's working?" Selina asked, crossing the room towards him and Bruce looked at her in confusion. He didn't get surprised anymore with her little invasions, but he also didn't understand the question. "Think you could beat someone from the streets by now?" she completed, crouching by his side, one knee on the floor and he shrugged.
"I would be better at not being beaten to death, I guess. Still have too much to learn yet.
She rolled her eyes.
"You are so damn honest, aren't you?" but before he could answer, she stood up and offered him a hand to stand up too. "Come on, try me."
"I'm exhausted." Bruce whined, standing in front of her and Selina raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? Let me break it to you, then: in the streets, no one is fully fine. No one rests. Everyone sleeps with one eye open and just uses this last bit of whatever it is that gets us through life to push forward and do things."
"Stamina." He said under his breath.
"What?"
"Stamina. It's what helps you go through everything and push forward."
Cat looked at him for a couple of seconds processing his words, then shook her head.
"Whatever. The thing is, if you want to do things with all the training you're having, as to be a fucking vigilante or something, fine, but you gotta know that crime – and whatever it is you deluded think you can fight – won't wait for you to be well and rested to attack. It's how it works."
For a moment, both teenagers were in silence, Bruce with his hands on his hips, Selina anxious in her heels (a bit higher than the previous boots she used to wear). Then, the boy nodded.
"You've got a point." But before he even closed his mouth, she hit his arms with such strength that he stepped back. "Hey!"
"Kid, the thing about me is" Selina said, hitting him more times. By the third one, he started to defend himself. "I always have a point."
It was a quick fight, but almost fair. In his fifteen years of life, Bruce had seen enough women kicking ass to know that Cat wouldn't lay off him. He didn't want her to, but he was too tired and she was very skilled, so it was easy for her to pin him down in less than five minutes.
He patted the tatami indicating his surrender and Selina leaned closer to him, one of her legs across his chest, a smile upon her face.
"Street still beats you." She stated, as if he didn't know.
"Yes, ma'am."
Selina was very close, her face perpendicular to his, her small delicate nose inches from his. She smelled of clean and wild, like the cat she was and her green eyes were shinning. Bruce didn't catch himself looking at her eyes, though. He caught himself looking at her lips; her curly hair was framing her face and at that very moment he understood how beautiful she truly was.
So his free hand tangled in her hair, bringing her face closer and her lips to his in a kiss different from the ones they experienced before.
It wasn't quick and sweet like their first or adventurous like their scape at the bridge. It was just… good. Really good. Selina's hand on his chin and the weight of her leg on his chest. When they pulled away, Bruce sat up, they looked quite dazzled at each other.
"Was that an attempt at the Spiderman kiss?" Selina asked with humor and Bruce shook his head no.
"No." he said and leaned closer to her again, this time laying her down the floor under him, every now and then his fingers traced the lines of her face. She was petit and mesmerizing and he never thought he could miss someone the way he missed her when she was gone, so the boy had the purest intention of memorizing Selina Kyle. Only God knew how long it'd be until he could see her again.
"Damn, kid." The girl hushed in his lips. "You've been practicing."
Bruce smiled, not losing focus.
"Perhaps."
She raised an eyebrow, a crocked smile on her lips.
"Lots of rich girls dying to have Wayne as their last name, huh?" Cat provoked and he felt himself growing serious. "Hey, I'm not saying it's bad. It's good for you, I think. Life experience and lots of knowledge. If they want something from you, you might as well take something for you too. If it's willingly given, what's the prob-"
"Selina." He cut her, not because he disagreed. Not because it wasn't true. But because it was a part that still was only his and he wanted to keep it that way. "Shut up."
He didn't need to say it twice.
iv.
A couple of nights later, Bruce was laying on the table of the study room because he was frustrated and tired. He was absolutely angry for having to go back to school the following month and have to take classes (even if it were just three or four classes) with kids his own age and "socialize". He didn't know how Gordon and Alfred had talked him into it, but now it was too late to turn back.
And mostly, because he had just gotten back from an event for Wayne Enterprises and the people he met there turned his board into the messiest maze and it was extremely frustrating.
So he was laying there, eyes closed, one arm blocking the light. The change in the air was too evident for him to ignore, though, when the window was opened for him not to try and sneak a peek.
"That's got to be uncomfortable." Selina said. The humor in her voice was such a contrast to his feelings, but he didn't intend to bring it up.
"Didn't expect to see you so soon." He admitted. He had to tell her that, because it was the absolute truth. Selina would only show up once in each three or four months. Sometimes she stayed an hour, sometimes the night, sometimes just a couple of minutes. More than once she asked if she could shower there and more than once he wondered how she handled the basic things on the streets.
He had no idea what could bring her so soon to his house, but he wasn't complaining. He liked having Cat around. Not only she was beautiful, but she was the cleverest kid he'd ever known and he always learned something new with her.
Walking slowly, with confident moves, she got closer, that Mona Lisa smile of hers, the green eyes shining with the yellow light of the room. Bruce didn't move, but his eyes followed Selina's steps until he could see her upside down. She planted her hands on both sides of his head and leaned closer. Before saying anything, she took a deep breath.
"I'll make the call, Bruce."
It was so out of the blue that he needed a second to understand what she meant and then
"Oh."
Bruce had seen that trace of fear in her eyes not many times. In fact, he could count in one hand and at that moment, she was scared, because the call was Cat's last resource and he knew she didn't want to do it, but she also knew there was nothing else to be done.
It was scary. And she had come to him.
It lasted exactly 37 seconds and then the girl shook it off with a shrug, game face back on.
"No biggie."
"Selina…"
"Already made my mind, kid." She cut him. Bruce knew he had to say something, but he also knew that Selina wouldn't let him make a point. She could never let herself be convinced by somebody else. "I just wanted to do that before leaving."
He didn't know what "this" meant until she leaned closer and kissed him right there the way they were. It lasted longer than you would've thought and yet too little. When they broke apart, they were both smiling. Selina stepped back.
"See, kid, that's the Spiderman kiss."
Bruce laughed and Selina quickly ran back through the window, back to the shadows, towards the call she had to make.
v.
There were several places where Bruce Wayne could randomly meet Selina Kyle. Well, that before she made the call and moved to another city. But yea, he could randomly meet her on the streets of East End or at a restaurant. Not that he was much of a outdoorsy person, but lately, with Rachel's incentive, he was going out more and there were several potential places he could swear Selina would be if life hadn't happened.
Rachel was his friend before, but they only started to get closer a couple of years after the murder. Now, she was the closest thing he had of a friend his own age; she was so smart, always knew what to do or say and how to take him from embarrassing situations at school or at fancy meetings. She fascinated him and sometimes he wondered if that fascination was as big as the one he had for Selina.
Selina, who he didn't see for over an year, with her wild hair and bold eyes walking around like she owned the place and yet, still managing to look like a slick cat. He expected to see her anywhere. Except his school, where he only went twice a week to take a couple of AP classes and history with Rachel and where he was doing quite a good job at being invisible (and failing miserably when it came to girls; it was like they could smell him from miles away);
When Bruce met Selina again, it was the oddest way. She walked in shadows, following him around and entering in the history class right behind him. She found a empty sit right by his side and only then she made herself be noticed.
"Hey kid, gotta pen and paper to borrow?" she said and only then he noticed her. Everything about that phrase was Selina and he just had to look up. No doubt, she was by his right. Different, but Selina Kyle all the same. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for his response and he smiled.
(he had a strong theory that she was stalking him, but okay)
"Your hair is longer." Cat commented when he offered the pen he had just taken from his bag.
"So is yours." Bruce pointed and her hand went automatically to the tip of her braid. "New hairstyle?"
She shook her head.
"Barbara's work." And then, as if she felt he needed an explanation, she continued. "So are the clothes."
Bruce eyed her. If Barbara and Montoya had picked her clothes, Cat had made quite the job to make them look as her own. Sure she wasn't all black punk rock in the high boots, high stockings, short shorts and wool jacket. It was hipster punk, maybe; pastel punk; but still punk. He was about to tell her that when someone interrupted them.
"Excuse me." A girl with long black hair and cat-like glasses said after clearing her throat. She pointed at Selina with the hand that held her books. "I usually sit here."
Bruce knew the girl, she was one of the nice ones, daughter of one of Wayne Enterprises' managers, a huge book nerd, always reading something interesting. He didn't bother to learn names, however, no matter how many times she had lent her notes or told him about this book she was reading. He made a mental note to try and remember her name next time.
"Really?" Selina asked, the mockery almost palpable in her words and she reached for Bruce's notebook, ripped one sheet and gave it back. Since the girl still was there, she raised an eyebrow. "You don't actually think I'm gonna stand up and look for someplace else to sit, do you?"
Bruce needed to bite his tongue so he wouldn't laugh and red faced the girl hushed hers "No, of course not" already moving to the back of the class. He shook his head mumbling how mean Selina was and looked at her, who had started doodling on the corner of her paper.
"How is it to live with two women?" he asked and she shrugged.
"I don't know. How is it to live in a house full of dudes?" the girl replied and then looked at him with a smile he knew well. "Oh, wait. I already know the answer."
He could give her a reply as smart as hers. He could. But instead he just said
"It's just Alfred and I, not a bunch of dudes. But you get to live with Barbara and Montoya." Her smile didn't fade at all. "Seriously, how is it?"
The boy was ready for another of Selina's clever answers, but this time she chose to be sincere.
"Empowering." She told him. "Feels like I can be a real boss, you know?"
Bruce scoffed. She already was the boss, what more did she want?
"I've learned some pretty cool stuff, got good food to eat, a pretty dope bedroom…"
"And the Mockingjay hairstyle." He cut her and she reached to hit his arm.
"Shut up!"
This time, however, he was faster than her, so she tried again, and again and a fourth time until he had a firm grip on both her wrists and Selina realized that Bruce was the one hard to hit this time. She looked up into his eyes and he was smiling, they both had turned to the corridor between the lines of chairs.
"Guess training beats streets now, huh?" Bruce bragged and Selina just smiled that smile of hers.
"In my defense, I haven't been much of a street kid lately."
He let go of her laughing.
"No, you don't get to lose your ghetto status. Jennifer Lopez made it clear."
At that exact moment, when Selina rolled her eyes, the teacher entered in the class, hurrying people to their places and then it hit her.
"Wait a minute, you've been listening to early 00's pop songs?" Bruce just shrugged and she shook her head. "I think I liked you better when you were hardcore."
Bruce spent the first half of the class with his head down concentrated in something he was writing on his notebook and on the second half he slipped another sheet of paper to Selina. This one had a portrait of her, but with the wild hair, not the tamed braid, and an almost perfect replica of her enigmatic smile, all did with pencil. Under his name, signed with a careless cursive as if he had nothing to prove, there was just one line:
I'm still hardcore.
…
She came by the following week, same cat-day, same cat-class and followed him around to his locker. This time, Selina had her hair in two French braids, was wearing a purple short dress over black tights that had a star pattern in it, high heeled short boots that got her almost at his height and a black leather jacket. She looked punker that day, if you asked Bruce.
"They enrolled me at a school last semester. Not this school, obviously. Too fancy for me to actually care." Cat told Bruce, leaning against the lockers. He was pretty sure they were dragging attention since last time she showed up, but he didn't care. Apparently, neither did she. "Anyway. That's why I can have the car in week days."
"And you are going to school?" he asked, genuinely curious. She nodded.
"Mostly." The boy raised an eyebrow, taken by her seriousness. "What?"
"Nothing." Bruce quickly added. "I mean… it's hard to see you… committing."
"Fuck you! I commit!" she replied quite offended. "I commit and you know that."
"Well, I don't mean that." He quickly said, sounding angrier than he should. "It's not hard to see you involved with things seventeen years old weren't supposed to. It's the normal stuff that's new."
Selina was on the defensive now, with her arms crossed and look hard.
"Well, I can do normal." She said, her voice low. "I've been doing normal for you."
And there it was, the reason why she made the call that made her a protected witness under Montoya's wing and turned Selina Kyle into the trophy on the cop's and Barbara's household. The subject they chose to avoid.
"Sometimes" Bruce said closing his locker, his voice very low, his eyes avoiding her "I wonder if you even remember his face."
Suddenly the whole challenge in Selina's posture was gone and her arms hung by her sides. She stepped away from the lockers and completely turned to him, only speaking when he looked up at her.
"No, B. No, I remember. I swear to God, I can't forget his face. I couldn't. Same way that night haunts you, it haunts me, because I saw it too."
"Then why don't we end it once and for all?" he asked. It was almost a beg. Selina shook her head.
"You still don't get it, do you, Bruce? It's too dangerous. This city is a living thing of its own and we've got to have the right timing for it to be taken down properly. We need to wait and I know it sucks. I know, Bruce, but it's all we can do for now."
She placed a hand on his arm and he looked down. That visit had turned some unexpected corners.
"It's just so frustrating." He admitted rubbing his face and she agreed.
"Bruce, look at me." Selina asked, her other hand resting on his cheek, making him look up at her. She noticed how small her hand looked on him. "I promise we'll catch him. We just need the right moment, but we will catch him."
He didn't say a word, just looked at Selina, into those clever green eyes, wondering how her years on the streets made her so resilient and wise and how well she understood the system and he wondered if there was even a chance to win this war and avenge his parents.
He wondered if this ghost would ever leave and it sucked pretty badly.
Suddenly, Selina's arms were around him, she hid her face on the curve of his neck and repeated over and over the same thing
"I'm sorry, Bruce. I'm so, so sorry. It's this city. I'm sorry."
Until he let go and walked away.
…
It happened one more time the following week. Selina didn't try to watch any class, but she found Bruce at lunch time from the top of the school's stairs.
"Bruce!" she called out and he looked up, just to see a blondish blur coming in his direction. "Catch!"
He had only half a second to react and catch – not something, but – her, who jumped in his arms smiling and content. He stumbled a couple of steps back and recovered his balance, one arm firmly holding her waist.
Selina quickly slipped to the tip of her toes to almost at eye level with Bruce, looking at him with seriousness and interest.
"Hi." They said practically together.
"Are you mad at me, B?" she asked and he could swear there was insecurity in her voice.
"Why would I ever be mad at you, Cat?" He replied and she shrugged.
"Well, there are plenty of reasons, but…"
"Cat." He cut her, not letting her go any further with her blab and she smiled.
"Is good you're not mad." The girl said, now mischievous. "That way I don't have to steal this."
With a hand on his neck, Selina brought Bruce's face to hers and kissed him as if she had missed it. It tasted like falling and like home and it was extremely pleasant. They stumbled a bit until Selina had her back against the wall and he steadied her with one arm still around her waist and the other hand tangled in her hair, short and wild again, like when he first met her.
"Bruce?" someone called and they parted. He looked to his left and saw Rachel looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you'd meet me for lunch."
He closed his eyes, only then remembering that. Selina stepped behind him, watched Rachel with that mysterious vibe she liked to have.
"Sorry, Rae, I totally forgot."
"I see." She said with a bit of humor. Selina stepped back, but Bruce caught her wrist. "It's okay, I already ate."
Crap, how long had it past since the bell rang?
As he thought about it, Selina tried to escape from his grip, but he always found a way to catch her again.
"Shit, I'm really sorry, Rachel."
"It's okay."
"I still-ugh!" Bruce turned and caught Selina, who was trying to escape, locking her arms, pressing her back to his chest. It was quite easy, actually, because she was petit and weighted almost nothing, but also she was called Cat for a good reason, it was hard to hold her for too long. "Hold on, I need to talk to you!" he told her and then turned to Rachel. "And I still want to talk to you. Later? Argh!"
At this moment, Selina kicked the wall, pushing Bruce against the lockers and making him release her. She feel on her feet but he recovered fast and soon they were rounding each other as they did when she used to invade his training sessions.
"Ouch." He whined, making her smile. Without looking away he told Rachel one more time that he'd meet her later and didn't wait to see her response, for Selina had taken off down a couple more stairs before he was able to catch her.
(although he knew that, just like cats, Selina wasn't one to be caught – she had let herself be caught)
She was standing in one of the windows of the first floor looking at the road ahead, in front of the school. There were cars coming and going from students with their own vehicles. He stood there, by her side, in silence for almost five minutes and they sat down on the windowsill. It was like the Arcade Fire song – he thought, but didn't say it out loud, because Arcade Fire was another band that would make her joke about being hardcore or not. Instead, he just asked her what he had to ask, without looking at her.
"You're leaving again, aren't you?"
Bruce sensed that Selina turned to look at him, so he turned to her too. Her eyes were clear and bright under the noon light and her feet dangled not much further from the ground then his. In response she just nodded and he mirrored her gesture.
"I thought so."
"It's too dangerous, B."
"I know." He said and there was no hurt or pain in his words, just comprehension. "It's dangerous to you, you need to stay safe."
"So we can avenge your parents, yes."
But he shook his head, looked right into her eyes.
"No. Cat, no. So you can live."
She was quiet for a whole moment before she smiled and cupped his cheek with her left hand, with a tender touch. The air was soft and full of understanding as if it was just a transition chapter from the second book of a trilogy, and then Selina leaned closer, touching her lips to his in a kiss as innocent as their first one, but also much longer and delicate.
That was the kiss, with no words at all, that said everything, the kiss that set up all that'd happen between them from that day on.
vi.
The night before Bruce's seventeenth birthday, Selina almost scared him to death when he came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel and found her in his bed using his computer.
"Put on something cool, something relatable, badass and not so rich-kid-from-rich-neighborhood" she said as soon as he opened the door without looking up. "We are going partying!" and only then she looked at him, saw that he had a hand on his chest and his cheeks were flushed. "What's the matter with you?"
After a moment to recover, he took a deep breath, straighten up.
"Alright, you can't do that."
Selina scoffed and closed the computer.
"Of course I can, you know me for four years, you're used to it already."
They dueled in a little staring contest until she raised an eyebrow and he finally gave up.
"Where?"
She smiled.
"Haven't you learned anything about me, B? Go, put some clothes on!"
Sighing, Bruce walked to his closet, but when he was about to open its door, he turned to her.
"Do you mind?" the boy asked and Selina shrugged.
"No." but after a pointed look from him, she swing her legs out of the bed. "O-kay." She said slow, heading to the balcony. He still heard her say "So prude, Gee."
She made him change this and that three times before declare herself happy with the result and lead him outside through a path that crossed the river. Right outside it, there was a cab waiting for them (that Bruce had to pay, but that wasn't a problem) and the driver already knew where they were going – Selina's thinking for sure.
"How's it to be back in town?" he asked her trying to distract from the neighborhood. He didn't want to ruin her surprise. Selina shrugged.
"Weird. Specially because now I have to live with Ivy Pepper."
Bruce shook his head.
"I never understood what is it about her that puts you on edge."
She looked at him that way. You know? With a smile in her eyes that say Boy, you have no idea and spoke one word only
"Kid…" as if she knew so much about life at the age of eighteen.
"You will never tell me, will you?" he asked, as if he had just realized that.
"Nope. Not a chance." And half a second later the cab came to a stop. It wasn't too far from the Manor, really. "We're here! You pay." Faster than it was humanly possible, she hopped out of the car, leaving Bruce to pay the man.
There was music in the air of the warehouses block they were in and young people like them coming and going. More than one party was going on, he noticed, and Selina headed to the one right in front of them, with quite a line of people waiting to go in. She went straight to the security guy, someone who couldn't be much older than them, but was huge, and he smiled.
"Kid is with me, Macky." She announced, grabbing Bruce's hand and the guy nodded, allowing them to pass, which caused a bit of a commotion on the line.
"Have fun, Cat."
Holding Bruce's hand, she led him inside, showing that she already knew the place well and took him to the middle of the dance floor. The music was loud and electronic, with people dancing all around them. Bruce looked around, not really understanding the dynamics of such place and tried to get her to listen to him.
"Selina!" he called out, but she, who had turned around dancing, just looked at him with a beautiful smile and shook her head.
"Just wait for it!" she shouted back and he did as she said, dancing a little too.
He counted the time and it took around three minutes before the music started to mash and turn into something else, so he spotted the DJ cabin. There were two people in there, one very focused on the computer and the other unplugging cables. And indeed, the music was very different than the one that was playing before. It was rock, not electronic and he could identify Rage Against the Machine's Know Your Enemy from the distance.
Selina held his wrist and looked at the time in his watch. She got on the tip of her high heels and told him with the brightest smile he had ever seen.
"Happy birthday, Bruce."
…
He had lost Cat and drank a couple of drinks (no one asked questions down there) before he spotted her. That ginger hair and quite insane blue eyes were unforgettable and she saw him too, over her cup of beer.
"Bruce Wa-" she started, but he cut her with a finger on her red painted lips.
"Learned my lesson." He warned and she smiled on his finger. "Ivy, good evening." Bruce lowered his hand and she took another sip from her beer.
"Good morning it is." She corrected him and winked.
Ivy Pepper had grown almost to his height, but later he noticed that she had high boots along with her short green dress. Her long orange hair was wavy and soft and they talked about nothing at all for a few minutes before going back to the dance floor. She told him that that was everyone's favorite nightclub, because it played electronics until midnight and then it'd change to rock until four in the morning. She told him all of this over three or four cups of beer.
"How old are you again?" Bruce asked when she turned another one.
"Just turned seventeen. Why?"
He laughed. He wasn't going to judge – damn, he used to steal wine or whisky from the Manor's cellar every once in a while, but the girl was a pro drinker.
"Curiosity, that's why."
The song changed to Oasis' Wonderwall and there was a round of whines, including from Ivy. Selina was gone for half an hour by then and he used that moment to try and scan the crowd after her again.
"Everyone hates that song!" the ginger girl called out and Bruce held her hand, pulling her closer.
"Come on, that's just a half-truth!" he replied, making her smile.
"You came here with Cat, didn't you?" she asked and he just nodded, their bodies swaying to the cliché music. "You two are close friends."
"I guess. I mean-"
"Don't overthink it, B." Ivy cut him, a habit that Selina had too. "I'm gonna ask you something and you need to be very honest with me, okay? Because it can fuck things up and I don't want to fuck things up."
"Wow. Okay, bring it on."
"Are you and Cat more than friends?"
Bruce shook his head not at all expecting that question and his brain wandered through all the times they were more than friends and all the times the kissed, trying to make some quick math out of it, but their dynamic was never labeled.
"What is there to be?" he finally replied and there was a hint of smile in her lips.
"You sure?" she didn't give him the chance to answer that. "You better be sure."
When he took a breath to ask why, she kissed him. It was unexpected, because he kind of could see why Selina found Ivy scary, bit she was also interesting and it was nice – kissing her was nice. So why not?
…
"Bruce, we gotta go." Selina called from behind him. It was almost three in the morning and he knew she was right, but she had just cut him in the middle of a conversation about the lack of progress in Arkhan. When he turned around he could swear, for half a second, he caught a cold look of Selina to Ivy, but it probably was his drunk-self seeing things.
"Where the hell have you been?"
"Dealing with unrequired business. Let's go."
He said a few goodbyes and they walked to the main avenue, where they found themselves a cab and the road was made mostly in silence.
"Did you have fun?" Selina asked, her voice soft and he smiled nodding. "You sure are drunk. Good, it was the intention. Gotta be seventeen once in a while, right?"
Bruce laughed and then, with no warning, hugged her, hiding his face in her hair, his arms firm around her waist. The cab stopped at the entry of the path they went out sooner that night.
"Thank you, Cat."
She would never admit that she savored those moments in his arms before pulling out.
"Don't go all emotional on me now, kid." She joked and he rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." He mumbled and put something in her hand. "Take her home safely, mate." The boy added as he opened the door and hopped out. There was a hundred dollars in her hand.
When Selina got home – a small apartment in a piece of the city that wasn't exactly noble, but also not very ghetto -, Ivy already was there, getting ready to bed.
"Took the baby billionaire home?" she asked, not really caring and Selina nodded.
Ivy then leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom combing her hair and looked at the other girl with curiosity. Both girls could be considered friends and both got into that roommate situation because of different crimes that happened in Gotham – even though none told the other which crime exactly made that happen. They were under Montoya's protection and that apartment was Barbara's for them to share for as long as it was necessary.
"He's quite a good kisser, isn't he?" the ginger girl commented still from her spot at the door, still combing her hair.
Selina looked cold at her, as if she didn't understand the question.
"The hell would I know?" was her answer and Ivy smiled.
"Come on! You've been friends for years and you're telling me you never hit that?"
Cat frowned, shaking her head.
"Yea, that's exactly what I'm telling you. Have no reason to kiss him, never wanted to."
Ivy expression softened with that and she stood straighter.
"Well, you should. He's a good kisser."
Selina rolled her eyes as Ivy got back into the bathroom. There was something else she would never admit, not to Pepper, not in a million years.
…
A couple of weeks later, she entered in his room through the balcony with a loud thump, making him look up from his computer.
"Heard you had a fancy party do attend today, didn't think you'd be home." She casually said, walking around the room. Every word was half a lie.
Bruce put his computer on the nightstand and got up.
"Why would you come if I wasn't here?"
Selina raised an eyebrow.
"Feeling cocky today, are we?" she commented with humor and glanced at the panel he had in his room, transferred from the study that would soon serve as his office. "Can I shower?" she asked, without looking at him and Bruce frowned, took a moment before answering.
"Yeah, sure. But don't you have a nice apartment now?"
Selina shrugged.
"We might or might not have forgotten to pay the gas bill. Besides," she turned to Bruce again. "I'm avoiding Ivy lately."
"Why?"
She started to remove layers, dropping her clothes on the floor.
"Political differences." She replied, already taking off her tank top. She sat on the bed to remove her boots and socks. "It leaves a weird static in the air."
"Oh." The boy mumbled. Fast as she was, Selina soon was only on her underwear – all black and cotton, practical instead of sexy. "If…" he started, but had to double take. "If you want to stay the night, I can put your clothes on the wash machine and they'll be dry by morning.
Selina looked at him from the top of her five feet with her smile – that smile of hers that put him on edge -, hands on her hips, hair wild and just shrugged.
"Alright."
"Alright?" he echoed, not really believing that it worked. "Okay." A few more seconds as he snapped out of it. "So, I'm picking up these and as you take your shower I'll put then to wash" he said, fishing her clothes from the floor and feeling extremely nervous. "Are you hungry?"
"No, B, but wait!"
She walked to the bathroom and entered, leaving the door open. With her back to him, she removed her bra, covering her breasts with the arm that wasn't handing him the piece of cloth. She was taking notes every single time his cheeks reddened and asked him to wait one more time, she let the door ajar to take off the last piece of fabric she had on, handed it to him through the space.
"Alright." He said again, under his breath. "I'm guessing you know where everything is."
"I do." Selina closed the door and locked it with a click, muffling anything else he said. It was incredibly amusing to embarrass him, but she had business now. Besides, she was a bit nervous too, so she needed a long bath to relax.
Half an hour later, wearing Bruce's robe, Selina got out of the bathroom quietly. She looked around and saw that he was in the balcony, so she quickly locked the door before calling him.
"Bruce?"
In no time, he was back in the room, but stepped back when he noticed the amount of layers she was wearing.
"Oh, do you want me to borrow you some clothes? You can sleep in your old room and-"
"Actually," she cut him, getting closer and he paused waiting to see what she was going to do. "I was thinking about sleeping here. With you."
She was close enough to pull him closer by the hem of his shirt and planted a kiss on his neck. For a moment, the boy was in shock, but as she kissed up to his chin, his body and mind started to respond and by the time she reached his lips he had agreed with it already. The kiss they shared was tender and long, getting lustier by the minute; faster than expected, Selina managed to remove his shirt, her fingers sliding down his chest and abs before she unknotted the robe and his hands, that were in her face, went slowly down and when they reached the bed there were no layers between them.
…
"You know," Bruce said, looking at Selina in the eyes; for such a tiny person she was handling his weight just fine. "You didn't call me 'kid' today, not even once."
She smiled - but this time it was a different smile, kind and… loving – touched her nose to his and said in a soft voice.
"You are no kid, Bruce Wayne."
…
He woke to the sound of birds and when he tried to get out of bed, he was trapped by Selina's arms.
"No." she mumbled in his skin and she was such a cat at that moment that it made him laugh.
"Are you going to Maroon 5 me?" Bruce asked and she blinked a few times, trying to push away the sleep without letting him go.
"I could. I definitely could." She answered, then kissed his chin, her fingers tracing the lines on his chest. "Good morning, B."
"Great morning, Cat."
She smiled sleepy and happy and he traced the line of her spine with lazy fingers. They kissed for a long time, not worried about the clock and she placed herself on top of him, always trying to bring him closer.
"Come on, what kind of seventeen years old are you?" she asked and he smiled in her lips.
"Just give me a sec." he replied, his hands searching the right places in her body to touch. She seemed so fragile in his arms, but he knew the reality: that she had thick skin and knew what she wanted. She was stronger than anyone. And horny. Very horny.
"Master Bruce?" Alfred called, knocking on the door and the two teenagers went very still. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, Alfred, all perfect. Why?" Bruce answered, his voice firmer than one would expect.
"Just found it weird that you didn't sleep on the couch."
Selina hid her face on his neck, trying not to laugh.
"Have to change sometimes." He said, hoping that the conversation was over, but Alfred still had a couple more things to say.
"Is there a reason for the door to be locked, Mater Bruce?"
Silence. And then
"Yes."
Silence again, a bit longer before the butler said
"Breakfast will be served in a few minutes. Tell Miss Kyle that she'll be welcomed to join us."
At the mention of her name, Selina's head snapped up and they looked at each other with wide eyes before whispering at the same time.
"The clothes."
"Sure!" Bruce finally replied, amused by Selina's red cheeks. "We'll be down in a few."
They waited a couple of seconds before looking at each other again, felling that perhaps there should have some awkwardness between them, but finding none. Then, Selina raised an eyebrow.
"Be down in a few?" she asked. "A few?"
He laughed, holding her closer by her waist and hip.
"Yeah, a few. I'm hungry." He said, laying her down the bed and kissing her. "Aren't you?" he asked in her lips and she mumbled something about how he could eat right there.
vii.
For Bruce's eighteenth Christmas, he was forced to host a dinner for the forces of Gotham and you've got to know one thing about Bruce Wayne: he hated the ways around Gotham more than he hates bats, and that's a hell fucking lot of hate, in case you're wondering. So one could only imagine how happy he was about throwing that party.
(they didn't know yet, but that would be the first of many parties Bruce would prove himself a terrible host that hated people, but his story was just beginning)
Maybe Alfred was right and he had become a bitter teen, but every single aspect of that dinner made him angry and the guests had just started to arrive when he already felt he was done. Not even the staff, with whom he always was naturally nice, were out of his radar that night.
"What do you mean, we're not on the list?" Bruce heard the commotion coming from the front door right when he was passing by and he came closer. "Bruce invited us himself, check again."
"Miss, I already checked three times…" the hostess mumbled, clearly intimidated. Bruce almost felt sorry for the guy – he too would be intimidated by her.
"Selina Kyle and Ivy Pepper. Check. Again."
As he got closer, Bruce saw the guy fumbling with the list, too nervous to function and come up with a sorry expression.
"Miss, you're not on the list."
"How?" Selina started, but then she saw Bruce. "B! What the fuck is that?"
"Are you embarrassing my guests, mister?" he asked in a cold tone and the hostess went red. "These are Misses Selina and Ivy and their names are on the list."
"Master Wayne, I checked four times…"
Bruce snatched the papers from the guys hands and turned them over, quickly finding what he wanted.
"The private list, mister…"
The guy was so terrified that he could barely articulate, so the other hostess, a woman older than them who was the responsible for the staff, came to his rescue.
"Roger, Master Wayne."
"Mr. Roger." He echoed. By then Selina had her arms crossed and a sarcastic smile, waiting to see what he would do. She could count in her hands the amount of times she saw Bruce really pissed and each of then earned the best memories to her. Ivy was right behind her, just watching. Bruce handed the papers back and when Roger was about to take them, he raised them out of his reach, handing them to the woman instead. "Tracy, I can't have this mister doing a bad job and embarrassing my guests." He said in a cold tone, looking deadly in the guy's eyes while the woman, Tracy, nodded. "He's fired."
Selina's jaw dropped, but just a bit. It was the first time she saw him taking on the staff and that was quite the surprise.
"Master Wayne…" Tracy tried to interfere, but Bruce didn't let her.
"Do you think that there is anyone else in your staff that could do a better job than Mr. Roger here? Tracy?"
She nodded again, before speaking.
"Perhaps Miss Taylor."
Bruce looked at her then, tired of Roger's face.
"And where's Miss Taylor?"
"Serving, Master."
"Then take her from there and bring her here." Bruce then turned to Selina and Ivy, not even waiting to see how the woman would deal with everything, and offered one arm to each. "Ivy, Cat."
They walked inside, not before Bruce said one last thing.
"Next time, Tracy, choose tour staff more wisely."
Once in the warmth of the Manor, the girls removed their coats, revealing their dresses. Ivy was wearing a long and green that matched perfectly with her ginger hair, while Selina had kept it simple and sophisticated with a black dress that had a long cut to show her leg and heels as high as Fish Mooney's.
"Looking pissed, Bruce." The ginger said, eyeing him with interest. He laughed with no humor and led them to the ballroom where the party was full on happening.
"You have no idea." He said as a response and once they were in the room, where he had to pretend to be a good host.
He made it pretty poorly, talking and dancing with only the people included on his private list, like Rachel and Ivy, not exchanging more than a couple of words with everyone he was forced to and sipping his champagne until Alfred started to follow him around and take every glass from his hands.
"No offense, Master Bruce," the butler said. "but you've became a grumpy teenager and I know you are a grumpy drunk, so I prefer to avoid the two situations together in such event."
"But Alfred!" Bruce protested, too sober for his taste (even though he knew that, if he wanted to go along with this idea bugging him ever since his parents were murdered, he should stop drinking as soon as possible, but come on! It was a hell of a night) "If I have to deal with those people, I need some intoxication!"
"No." was Alfred's final reply before he turned around and walked away.
"That sucks." Selina said behind Bruce, who quickly turned around. "But if he's not gonna hound you, how would he know?"
Bruce shrugged.
"He'll probably order the staff to avoid me and make sure that Rachel keeps an eye on me."
The girl raised an eyebrow almost mockingly. He knew what she would say – she'd say that since he knew what they would do, he should be one step ahead, especially if he hated that party so much. And she would be right, but it was too late and he had other plans.
"Want to dance?"
She smiled.
"Though you'd never ask."
He held her hand, leading her to the middle of the dance floor and they started to sway together, one of her hands in his, the other on his shoulder.
"You're in flirting mood now." She attested and he smiled. "How many of your affairs are on your private guests list?"
His smile got bigger, mischievous.
"A few."
Her jaw dropped mockingly.
"And I was here thinking that I was exclusive!" she said, her voice smooth. Bruce changed the subject.
"You look rather lovely tonight, Cat."
"It was Barbara's do, me and Ivy. She's a really nice person, you know? Has her demons, but a nice person still."
"And she taught you well."
Selina had nothing to say to that, for her relationship with Barbara, Montoya and Jim Gordon was more complex then Bruce's fear of heights, so they just danced in silence, spinning and turning to the band's lazy jazz. When Bruce made Selina turn and dance with her back to his chest, there was a subject again.
"I can see…" she said, looking around. "Five ladies looking from pissed to envious at us, and quite a few gossipers watching and talking."
"That's because you look so damn sexy." He replied low in her ear and she smiled, turned her head to look at him.
"And I'm no one, you're The Bruce Wayne and you have your hands around me and it's like we're having sex on the dance floor." She turned to him again, her green eyes huge and evident with the black eyeliner. It was a habit of hers, to turn every subject into a heavy one, it seemed.
They kind of had an idea by then about their connection, that there was always this electricity between them that made them interesting to each other, but were still too young to truly understand the extent of it too. Too young to deal with it the right way.
"Let them talk." He finally said, not addressing the things she pointed out. He wouldn't have the chance, though, because Tracy, the staff lady, interrupted them.
"Master Wayne, it's time for you to make a toast, for the meal is about to be served." She told him and sighing he followed her towards the stage were the band was finishing a song.
He fished a glass of champagne on his way and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention when the final notes were played. Gradually, the conversation died and he scanned the room, saw Alfred by the door, Selina, Ivy and Rachel near the shrimp bowl and a few other familiar faces that adorned his crime board. Forcing a smile, he quickly glanced at the band before speaking.
"Great band, huh? So talented." Bruce said, trying to decide if he should go with Alfred's cards or simply follow his guts. One look at the vice-president of Wayne Enterprises, all greedy and disgusting, made the choice easy. "Good evening, I'm sure you all are so eager to know what I have to say in such important night, the most traditional Christmas party of my family's company finally being held at the Wayne Manor again. I have to say I was completely against it. I really didn't want that amount of selfish, greedy, fake people in my home, but we all know how politics works, don't we?" he laughed bitterly. "And, you know, things are going to change anyway, so why the fuck no, right?"
The crowd was silent and Selina, in her spot, tried not to laugh. Bruce continued.
"So, if you were a "mandatory guest"," he air quoted "I want to offer you my sincere 'Fuck you. Stuff yourself with all the food we will serve as if you don't have more than enough in your own house, then fuck the fuck off here. May you choke on your own poison'." He mentioned to leave the stage, but thought better, turned the champagne in two gulps and spoke again. "The other guests are cool, eat as much as you like, you can have a Merry Christmas."
…
Selina still was laughing when they reached the music room on the third floor of the manor.
"You can have a Merry Christmas." She echoed, sitting in the first couch she found while Bruce went straight to the victrola. "Their faces… best Christmas ever! Oh-" she interrupted when the first notes of Let it Snow started to play, proving that he had planned that escapade.
Bruce came to her, offering a hand to help her up in a swift movement that put them dancing together again.
"Are you trying to be cliché, B? What's the next song? Baby, it's cold outside?" she mocked, but he just shook his head smiling.
"I'm trying to have something nice with someone I hold dear tonight, Cat." He answered and thank God the light was dim, because she was sure her cheeks blushed. "Can we?"
She smiled.
"We can."
They danced and chatted and laughed and drank wine to at least ten songs and they kissed and kissed and when Selina looked up the ceiling there was a mistletoe right above them, so she said
"A kiss under the mistletoe." Thinking that the kiss could be as deadly as the plant.
"What?" Bruce asked and Selina shook her head.
"Never mind." She dismissed, but he pulled away a bit, just enough to look at her.
"Selina…" he said, and there was always something when he said her name – her actual name – that would make her heart skip a beat. "I'm leaving."
His words were so out of context that she had to ask what did he mean.
"I mean I'm going to leave Gotham and travel the world for a few years."
"Oh." She mumbled, still not really processing what that meant.
"Alfred is the only one who knows, but I wanted to tell you personally." He continued. "To make sure that you know that I will miss you and would like to see you again when I get back."
Selina scoffed.
"Me and Rachel, Ivy, Miranda…"
He shushed her, a smile playing in his lips, the kind of smile that made Selina decide that she liked him better when he was not in flirting mood.
"I'm here with you, Cat." He said. "I'm here with you now."
…
"Selina?" Bruce called her. They were sweaty and tired under his comforters, her fingers lazily tracing the lines in his chest. She hummed to signalize that she was listening. "Give me a reason to stay."
She laughed, that one was easy.
"Stay, so we can have mindless sex whenever we want." The girl replied, trying to sound sexy, and kissed the skin above his heart. Bruce laughed. "Hey! It's a damn good reason!"
"It's a fucking great reason." He corrected, still laughing and she turned her head to look at him as his laugh died. "Damn, what kind of eighteen years old am I?"
"Good question." Selina said, her voice low. He turned his face to look at her too.
"I don't think there's anything that could make me stay." He admitted, almost ashamed and she waited. "It feels like I have to do this, you know?"
She nodded and kissed his lips.
"Then you should do it."
…
It was late in the morning when Selina woke up.
In his bed.
Alone.
The clock said it was short after nine.
She sat down, looking at everything that surrounded her – his clothes, his books, hos goddam crime board, his smell still around – and felt her face cold with her tears.
Then she went down for breakfast wearing his clothes and found Alfred in the kitchen. He tried to make one or two jokes, but it was clear that he was feeling Bruce's departure too, and when Selina joked
"Come on, Alfred, how many girls did you greet by the morning looking like a mess the way I do right now?" after he asked how she was feeling, he shook his head.
"Only one, Ms. Kyle. You are the only one he lets stay."
And it kind of helped her understand how she knew he'd come back whole and better for here without really knowing it.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Can you, please, leave a review? :D